


Supernova

by Churbooseanon



Series: Starlight Challenges [3]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/M, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-10
Updated: 2015-03-10
Packaged: 2018-03-17 05:06:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3516446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Churbooseanon/pseuds/Churbooseanon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life, so small, so fragile, so beautiful. Worse, life, so fleeting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Supernova

**Author's Note:**

> Starlight Challenge Weekly prompt: March 2nd, 2015: Stars have brilliant deaths, large explosions given a wonderful name. Men are granted nothing so glorious.

On a cosmic scale all things which have a start have an end. Energy. Time. Matter. All began. All will end. They operate on scales outside of the ability of a human to understand, even a one-in-a-million genius. Stars are formed by the coalescence of matter, the energy released by atomic fusion resulting in radiant points of life the burn on scales which are known but hard to quantify. What is the life of a star? Does the process by which they form, exist, and decay or ‘die’ truly count as life? They are non-biological processes, and the human mind fathoms life in biologicals and the rare instance of artificially created life, but that is another matter entirely. 

Life. Now there was an interesting thought. A thing which could be and would be fathomed and pondered and debated a hundred million times over throughout all of time. Life, so small, so fragile, so beautiful. Worse, life, so fleeting. 

How many times over the years had he had a chance to see that? To know that? How many other people on the block had he seen deal with letters home suddenly ceasing? Men and women in officer’s uniforms with a Chaplin at their side to give the news no one wanted to hear. Of course it was better than the alternative. After all, every life humanity spent was supposed to be one step closer to survival. Leonard had always thought that it was really just a comforting lie. 

What was the extinction of an intelligent species like? Did they fall with a whimper and a moan. Or was it more of a sob? Would they die in the plasma induced hell of a glassing, the final human colony wiped out in a burn so strong that there was nothing left, nothing able to come through the end. The entire human race burnt out like ants by a child with a magnifying glass. 

Or would they go out like a star? A blazing supernova of fury, fueled by explosives and righteous rage, trying to take as many of their killers with them as possible? Can mankind gather the fire power to achieve such an end? No. He thought that wasn’t likely. 

No, what he fears is that humanity would become like the life they had created. 

AI. Artificial Intelligence. Despite the best work of the leading minds of generations, there was no life that seemed as fleeting, as fragile, as brilliant and quickly burning of a star as an AI. The more they learned, the more they grew, the less they could handle. Each new bit and byte of information shortened their life. And when they went, they exploded in their own way. Each tore itself apart, went crazy, went rampant, and woe befall anyone in the way. But they were temperamental as well, supernovas waiting to happen, and at the same time a single poke, a single change, could pull them apart. He’d heard of AIs that, for want of a certain crew member, would start to fall into the stages of rampancy. 

Seven years, these children of humanity. Seven, eight years and then they were gone. Like a light bulb flickering and then going out. Sparks of potential quickly doused by their own brilliance. 

Their potential, their brilliance, their force was what inspired him. 

And what he gets for it…

Hers was a flame that was quenched too soon. Burned too bright, too hot, too passionately. There were those who had joined the war efforts because they had no where else to go. Others because they lived too near the front-line to do anything else. There were those with specializations that were perfect, those who lived in military families, those who were chasing dreams or glory or whatever reasons they had. Allison…

Allison. 

It was a name made of beauty. The sound of it caught in his ears and made his heart beat faster. The thought of it recalled hot lips and hotter hands, rough touches and whispered promises. The smear of lips over his shoulder and fingers curling in his hair. At the same time the sound of it made him want to scream, want to shout, want to beg. Made him think of the cold drive of rain, each icy drop slamming through his clothing like an accusation because he couldn’t protect her. Couldn’t make her stay. Couldn’t make his love of her worth enough.

Or had it been enough. Had moved her enough to make her join for the other reason.

True belief. Self-sacrifice. Surrender to something greater. 

There was something about her, something that clung to him. Maybe some essence of her soul wrapped so tightly around his body that when they made Alpha, she came along for the ride. And they had been so different. Always so different. So what had meant to be an experimental AI for his purposes, a miniature star in its own form harnessed to a new power, resulted in her. 

But really, in a way, this wasn’t a story about her, Leonard, even if it had been the whole time. Even if she was what drove him, even if she was the thing which kept him going. No.  
This is your story, Leonard. This is the story of the pistol in your hand. This is the story of the video looping before you as your daughter walks away. This is the story not of the end of a star or a species of even yet another AI. 

No, this is the story of how you died. 

She left a gun at his side. A magnum. Less effective these days compared to the early days of PFL. Word was that Covvie kinetic shields took the force better, and no one knew why. But for what he had here didn’t need it. 

The power shut off around him, the video played one last time as he listened to the groan and whine of the door behind him. For a long moment he held on to the gun, staring at it, wondering just what should be done. There were a number of ways. Temple. Mouth. Under the chin. 

The gun comes up, the metal cool against his scalp. 

Strangely his hand doesn’t shake. His finger is on the trigger. 

Doctor Leonard Church’s life ends in it’s own flash of light and heat.

But unlike a supernova, no one will ever see.


End file.
